Door and means foe closing same



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. DOYEN & J. DIDION.

SLIDING DOOR AND MEANS FOR CLOSING SAME.

No. 535,821. Patented Mar. 19, 1895.

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Patented Mar. 19, 1895 (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

D. DOYEN & J. DIDION. SLIDING DOOR AND MEANS FOR CLOSING SAME.

No. 535,821. Patented Mar. 19, 1895.

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I P I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SLIDING DOOR AND MEANS FOR CLOSING SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 535,821, dated March 19, 1895.

Application filed February 9, 1893- Serial No. 461,613- (No model.)

Patented in Belgium August 16, 1892, No. 99,211, and

December 10,1892,No.77,649; in France December 12, 1892,11'0. 213,110, and in England December 17, 1892, No. 23,311.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, DENIs DOYEN and JACQUES DIDIQN, manufacturers, of Brussels, in the Kingdom of Belgium, have invented new and useful Improvements Relating to Sliding Doors and to Means for Closing the Same, (for which no patent has been obtained in any country except in Belgium on August 16, 1892, No. 99,241, and on December 10, 1892, No. of certificate 7 7,649; in France on December 12, 1892, No. of certificate 213,110, and in England on December 17,1892, No. 23,311,) of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to sliding doors and to means for closing the same. It comprises special devices for suspending the sliding doors so as to suppress all sliding friction and enabling also the rollers, balls and other similar parts which have heretofore been employed in the construction of doors of this kind to be dispensed with. This mode of suspension permits of the application to sliding doors of various systems of automatic closing appliances.

We will proceed to describe our invention by way of example as applied to a door of a tramway car, but it is also applicable to any sliding doors, windows, blinds, shutters and the like, which are adapted to move in guides.

According to oursaid invention the door is suspended by two articulated levers forming a cross and arranged so that the door moves constantly in the same straight position and without support. As friction is suppressed the motion is very gentle. These articulated levers can turn upon pivots, folding upon themselves and taking up very little room. The automatic closing may be obtained by counterweights, springs or pneumatic apparatus.

In the annexed drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of the door with its system of suspension and an automatic pneumatic closing appliance. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the stop roller maintaining the door closed. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the door provided with the recess for the stop roller. Fig. 4 is a detail view of another kind of stop. Fig. 5 is another kind of automatic closing appliance, the door being closed, part of the slide being broken off in order to show the motion of the levers.

view of the piece that supports the upper end of lever at the frame side. view of same.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3, A is the door adapted to move at the top in part B of its frame B. It issuspended by two levers C and D. The lever D is articulated at its lower extremity to a piece E fixed to the door A. This lever swings on pivot X. The lower part of lever C is articulated in the same manner to a piece F fixed to the frame B. It swings on pivot X. The two lovers Oand D cross each other near their middle part in H" where they are connected by a pivot J fixed to one of the lovers and upon which the other lever can turn Fig. 13 is a plan .freely, these two levers being constantly held one against the other. The upper extremity of each of the two levers O and D is bent to the form of an arc of a circle, and this bent part is provided with a slot or groove M in which is fitted a roller M secured to the door in the case of the first lever D and to the frame in the case of the second lever C. The roller and slot of the lever O are marked. The curvature of these levers is such as to follow the roller in all the positions that may be occupied by the door, which is thus always held in its vertical position. Under these circumstances the door is always in equilibrium, that an) say, it remains in the position in which it is put, and has to be opened and closed.

It will be seen that the levers are of unequal length and that this brings the pivots of one lever out of line with those of the other lever so that the pivot bearings may pass one under the other and if desired lie in the same vertical plane when the door is freely opened. This allows the connection to occupy'a small space and is especially adapted for cars where the door way is narrow and the door must open as far as possible.

The automatic closing may take place in various manners, either by weighting the lever which bears upon the door, or by applying a spring to one or both of the levers, or by Fig. 13, the roller on the frame and the notch in the door are dispensed with. A roller mounted upon a spring is fixed to the frame near the slot in the lever, and the latter has a notch designed to receive this roller, so as to be held in its open or closed position. In yet another arrangement, Figs. 5 and 6, for automatically closing the door the two levers O and D are articulated at their upper end upon pivots on the door and on the frame.

The lower extremity of the lever D is formed with a cylindrical part K which slides with friction in a tube L fixed to a piece E on the door. This tube turns upon a pivot X and guides the first lever D which moves upward and downward in the tube proportionately to the movement of the door when it is open or closed. The extremity of the second lever C is formed in the same manner, its cylindrical part K sliding in a tube or cylinder L fixed to a piece attached to the frame B. It turns upon a pivot X and moves like the first lever D. In the interior of the cylinder L is a spiral spring Z bearing against the cylindrical extremity K of the lever C thus compelling the two levers O and D to move apart, the suspended door being closed. The door will be held in this closed position by the constant pressure of the spring without any necessity for keeping it closed by a lock or other like device.

When the door is notprovided with an automatic closing device, it is necessary to employ an arrangement enabling it to be held in its open or closed position. We obtain this result by the arrangement set forth in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, by the aid of a roller P mounted upon a flat spring and fixed to the lower part of the frame in which the door moves. A screw serves to regulate the relative height of the roller. The upper part of the door is formed for a short distance with an inclined plane S and at the extremity of this inclined plane is a notch R designed to receive the roller when the door is closed. vWhen placed in the notch the roller can leave the latter only if a certain pressure is exerted upon the door. The roller and notch hold the door closed and a similar system may be arranged at the other extremity of the door for keeping it open.

The improved suspension and automatic closing devices above described may be applied to all kinds of sliding doors, windows, blinds, shutters and the like.

The arms of the levers are of unequal length in order that the pivots will be out of the same horizontal plane and will thus permit a more compact folding of the lovers when the door is opened. We have found in practice that it is absolutely necessary to the perfect working of the levers that their ends as shown he slotted and that these slots must be curved. This is necessary in order that the door move perfectly horizontal. We determine the curvature of these slots by experiment using the lovers pivoted together as shown and also pivoted at their lower ends to the door and frame and then by moving the door horizontally thexpath traversed by the upper pivots along the upper ends of the levers is marked off and the curved slots thus laid off. 7

Having thus described our said invention and in what manner the same has to be performed, we declare that what we claim is 1. In combination with the sliding door and frame, the levers pivoted together at their intermediate portions and having their corresponding arms of unequal length, said arms being pivoted respectively to the frame and door, the lower pivots being out of the same horizontal plane and the upper pivots being also out of the same horizontal plane, one pair of pivots being relatively fixed and the other pair entering curved slots in the ends of the levers, substantially as described.

2. In combination with the sliding door, the levers for suspending the same, and the stop consisting of the spring roller adapted to engage a notch in the levers, substantially as do scribed.

DENIS DOYEN. I JACQUES DIDION. Witnesses:

JOSEPH GOFFIN, GREGORY PHELAN. 

